“Just follow the path ahead!” the man yelled over the roar of the engines. “We’ll start on three!”
Gage tipped his hat again and then gripped his wheel.
“One!”
It was starting! My heart beat a little louder.
“Two!”
I clung on even tighter. I knew it was coming. I was nervous. Thrilled. Fucking insane. Adrenaline coursed through me and we hadn’t even started yet. Why the hell am I so amped for this?
“Three!”
Gage took off, the engines roaring even louder, and let out a, “Hell yeah!” once he realized we were already in the lead. A tree came up ahead and Gage whipped his wheel, but he didn’t stop. I hung on tighter and wanted to shut my eyes, but I didn’t. It was fun to see everything coming at me.
The path curved and Gage turned his wheel a little too sharply. We jerked to the side and I gasped, thinking we were about to flip over. He rotated the wheel to the left and got back on track, bellowing with laughter as I clung to the front of his shirt.
“I got you, Ellie,” he said over his shoulder.
I glanced over mine and saw the man and woman getting closer. “Gage, they’re coming!” I squealed.
Another tree appeared ahead and he took the right side, the man and woman taking the left. We were neck and neck and the finish line was only a few feet away. I couldn’t tell which one of us was taking the lead.
The wind grew harsher, causing my pigtails to flap and my cheeks to burn, and Gage pressed his pedal to the max the closer we got to the finish line. I squeezed my eyes shut and rested my cheek against his back. I couldn’t look. I wanted to, but I couldn’t.
Cheers and hollers from the crowd got closer and soon the cheering died down and the mower jerked forward before coming to a screeching halt. Silence rang in my ears and then Gage sat back, laughing.
“Oh shit! That was fun!” he said, chuckling. “We won, Ellie. You can open your eyes now.” My eyelids opened slowly, but I was still glued to Gage’s back.
He took one of my hands and helped me off the mower. My butt felt numb and my legs wobbled like spaghetti, but I managed to stand anyway.
“Woo-wee!” the man we raced yelled as he jogged in our direction. “That was some ride!”
“It was!” Gage laughed. His eyes chinked as he stared at the man and I hadn’t noticed before, but that kind of smile made him look younger. Adorable.
“Well, you got your ticket in. I’m Darrell, by the way. It was fun racing with ya. Square dancin’ starts in five.” Darrell looked at me and winked. “Have fun, lil’ lady.”
I smiled. “I will. Thanks.”
Darrell walked off and Gage turned to look at me. He held his elbow out again and I hooked my arm through his.
“You okay?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Is it bad that I feel like I’m made of Jell-O right now?” I asked, grinning.
He let out a deep laugh as we neared the door, the tractor moving forward to let us in. “First time’s always like that.”
“How many times have you been here?”
“My family and I used to live in Texas for a while—before my dad moved his business to Virginia.”
“Oh.” He brought up his family a lot, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask about them. He always spoke in the past tense, as if they were no longer living.
Good thing we entered the barn and a few people were already in the middle dancing, providing a distraction from our conversation. Some people were chatting and some stood next to the table of food with plates and cups in hand. “Want a drink? Beer?”
I laughed dryly. “I’ve never had beer before.”
His eyes expanded. “Never? How the hell are you enjoying life right now? Didn’t you say you’re twenty-one?”
“Yes.”
“When did you turn twenty-one?” he asked, leading the way toward a decorated table with wide silver pails on top.
“January fourteenth.”
“It’s June and you’ve never had a beer before? I know Ben drinks them. You’ve never tried to sneak one?”
“Nope,” I said, popping my lips.
“I guess that’s another thing to change tonight.” Gage dug into the wide pail filled with ice and pulled out two beers. Uncapping them, he handed one to me before taking a sip of his.
I sniffed it and my nose pinched. “Smells like piss.”
He laughed. “Tastes like heaven. Try it.”
I stared at my bottle for a second before lifting the rim to my lips. It tasted bland at first, but as I took a few more sips, it wasn’t so bad. It cooled me down after the intense lawn mower race that’d taken place seconds ago.
“See,” Gage said, lifting his bottle, “not so bad right?”
“It’s okay.” I smiled at him before turning to face the crowd, and for once I didn’t feel out of place. The women there had on the same kind of gingham dresses. Most of them wore their hair in pigtails just like mine, but they had on tons of makeup. The men were dressed like Gage—plaid button-up shirts, cowboy boots, and a hat to match. On Gage, it was sexy as hell. Who knew the country-boy style could look so good on him? I wanted to devour him even more, if that were humanly possible.
“All righty!” a woman yelled through a microphone from the DJ stand. “Round those partners up ‘cause the square dancing is about to begin. Ladies, get pretty. Fellas, get sexy. It’s time to have a ball!”
I looked at Gage nervously, biting my lip. “How am I supposed to know what to do?” I asked.
“I’ll lead you.” He grabbed my bottle and set it on the table, leading me out onto the dance floor. “Just listen to the calls,” he murmured. Fiddles started playing and I became more and more nervous. A hand moved in my peripheral and I looked down at it.
“G’evening again, lil’ lady,” the familiar deep voice said. I looked up and sure enough it was Darrell. “Lookin’ mighty worried. Don’t sweat it. After the first try, it gets easier.”
The fiddles grew louder as a man yelled through the mic to call everyone in for the last time. Unease consumed me, but as Gage pressed a hand against the small of my back and I looked up at him, I calmed down a bit. “It’s not so bad,” he said, winking. “Trust me.”
“All right, go ahead and give a bow to ya partner,” the man at the mic called. Gage’s hand was still in mine and he bowed, tipping his hat down a little. Giggling, I bowed back. “Okay, now bow to the other.”
I looked at Darrell who bowed at the same time as me. Okay, it was pretty easy so far. “Now join hands and circle around. Gone ‘head, take it on ‘round,” the man sang.
The music picked up and blared through the speakers and Gage moved left while I moved with him. Our hands were still glued together and the room shifted with each step I took. Okay. Still easy.
“Swing that partner high and low!”
The spinning circle stopped and Gage came forward to hook his arm around my waist, the other holding up my hand. He spun in small circles, grinning at me. I placed my arm on top of his shoulder and laughed as he winked.
“Now all our ladies step to the middle, then back it on up. Now step back and let the gentleman take over.”
Gage released me and I turned around to step in the middle. I couldn’t help but smile even more because all the women were excited. I rushed back to Gage’s side before he stepped forward, tipping his hat at the man in front of him.
He came back and the man yelled, “Go promenade around the ring.” With that, Gage hung on to my waist and spun in circles again. Our free hands were clasped together in the air for the second time.
“Having fun?” he asked.
I nodded and then he lifted my arm to spin me in a quick three-sixty.
“Now join hands and swing it on ‘round.” We did as commanded. “Now promenade to cool it down.”
I couldn’t believe how much fun I was having doing a square dance. With Gage, it felt even more enjoyable. I wasn’t sure how, but he made me smile the entire t
ime. I don’t think the smile ever left my glee-filled face.
The man told us to take a break after our fourth set and we laughed as we went for another round of beers. “I don’t know how I’ve missed out on this before,” I said before taking a gulp of my beer.
“Well, when you stay cooped up in your room that’s what happens,” Gage said, leaning against the wall. “You miss out on fun opportunities.”
“I have fun,” I argued.
He smirked. “Doing what exactly?”
“Drawing. Painting. Taking pictures.”
“So you’re really on the creative side?” he asked, amused.
“I am. I love art. I wanna make it my career.”
“Maybe you should take some pictures of the band. You could make a ton of money off them—you could even become a graphic designer for us. All you need is my word. I can hook it up for you.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t think I want my future in your hands.”
He laughed. “What, do you think I’d forget about hooking you up?”
“No… well, yeah,” I stated honestly.
Gage laughed again before downing his beer. “If there’s one thing I don’t fuck with, it’s someone’s future and career. You seem passionate about it. If you really want it, I can give it to you.” His eyes softened and then he looked from my eyes to my cleavage. “I mean that in more ways than one, though.”
“Stop.” I slapped his arm playfully. “We’re just friends. Remember?”
“Well, yeah. Only because that’s what you want. I can respect that, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do more with your body if I were given permission.”
I smirked at him before taking another sip of beer. “I’d love to be a graphic designer for FireNine. I could create your next CD cover—maybe even the band’s T-shirts?”
“You could create a whole damn store for us if you want, Ellie.” He smirked. “I’m sure it would sell.”
I put down my beer, squaring my shoulders at Gage. He looked into my eyes, his eyebrows stitching as his lips pressed thin. “You’d really do that for me, Gage? Let me become a designer for you, I mean.”
“Is it something you’ll agree to keep doing?” he asked, leaning his shoulder against the wall and folding his arms. “‘Cause that’s what a career is all about. I don’t like quitters.”
“If I had an opportunity like that, I’d do my best to keep it.”
His right cheek lifted into a smirk as he studied my eyes. He was most likely trying to figure out if I was being serious. I was serious as hell. That was a dream job for me—to paint and draw and then see it as a final product. It was something I’d craved since I was a child.
“All right.” He sighed. “I’ll see what I can do. Of course, you’ll have to talk to Ben about it, too. He may know more people than me that could help you out a bit.”
“Oh my gosh! Really?” I squealed, grabbing his hands.
“Really.” He winked before tossing his empty beer bottle. “Wanna go for some fresh air?” he asked, cocking his head toward the exit.
I nodded quickly. I was excited. I could see in his eyes that he was being serious. I knew he joked around a lot and could be really irresponsible, but this was one thing I wanted to trust him with.
I hooked my arm through his and we stepped through the crowd to get outside. “You don’t find it weird that none of those people in there knew you?” I asked.
“Not really.” He shrugged. “Most of them are real down-to-earth country people. They’ll listen to nothing but the country genre. FireNine is more of a rock-slash-alternative kind of band—plus we’re just starting to become popular. Our music isn’t too hardcore or too soft. We’re, like, right in between.”
I nodded, my lips pressed together. “Makes sense.” We continued walking and silence crept up on us. There was one question that had been on my mind since his performance earlier and I had to get an answer. “Have you ever been in love before?” I blurted. Right after asking, my cheeks burned and I lowered my head a little.
Gage looked down at me, his eyes narrowed. “What makes you ask that?”
“Well… your song you sang earlier—the new one from the garage—you told me the other night that you write most of the songs. Did you write that one?”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
“The lyrics seemed to be about a broken heart…” I trailed off as he looked at me, smirking. “Never mind.” I sighed, feeling completely idiotic for bringing it up.
“No, it’s cool.” He tucked his fingers into his back pockets. “I’ve never been in love before. It’s odd, though, how one would think it’s always a boyfriend or girlfriend who’s broken someone’s heart. Sometimes it’s the ones closest to us who can destroy us most. Sometimes it’s friends… family. It’s not always a romantic relationship that can leave us with a broken heart.”
I nodded, speechless. His way with words was really, really getting to me. How could he be so deep and emotional yet one of the most ruthless rockers I’d ever known? It confused me and I thought on it as we continued walking—that is until Gage lightened up and looked at me. “So tell me about you, Sweet Ellie,” he said. “Besides your crazy, mad obsession with art, what else do you like to do?”
I thought hard on his question as I looked ahead. I knew he was trying to change the subject and I was glad, because knowing me, I would have asked him to clear my confusion. I wanted to know who exactly broke his heart.
The path was continuing between a cut of trees, but the moonlight was seeping through, giving us enough light to see where we were going. “I like music,” I said. “And watching cartoons sometimes.”
Gage laughed at me. “And, again, you say you’re twenty-one, right?”
“Yes, I am,” I said matter-of-factly. “Cartoons will never get old—especially the classics.”
He laughed again. “Okay, okay.” I pulled my arm from his to give him some space. It felt nice to be close to him, but I knew sooner or later me clinging to his arm was going to turn into something outside of being friends. I couldn’t afford it. “So what about your future? Do you have a boyfriend you swear you’re going to marry one day like most girls do?” he teased, winking.
“Nope.” My lips popped. “I’m a single dove right now.”
“I like that. Single dove,” he noted, eyes connecting with mine.
“Really?” I folded my fingers in front of me and a creek came into view. “You should make a song out of it… even though you aren’t single—but you do live the single life.”
He laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I rolled my eyes. “I think it’s obvious what it means, Gage.”
“Oh, Ellie,” he said, his deep voice causing my stomach to coil. “So impudent, aren’t you?”
I smiled, looking up into the hazel eyes that were already looking down at me. “Actually, I can be really coy.”
“I can see that. You’re one of those people who doesn’t give too much away.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked, biting the corner of my bottom lip.
“Not at all. Not when you’re someone like you.”
My eyebrows drew in and an innocent frown took hold of my features. “That made no sense at all,” I scoffed.
Gage took off his cowboy hat and ran a hand through his messy hair as he stopped walking. His dark hair rustled with the gentle breeze and as a strand fell onto his forehead, I bit my lower lip again, fighting the urge to push it back and get a clear view of his gorgeous face. Good thing his head was turned and he wasn’t looking at me admiring him.
“Would you like me to explain it to you?” he asked, meeting my eyes again.
“Please do, Grendel.”
He laughed at that. “Okay. Someone like you is… innocent—but knows how to have a good time. You’re someone who can create a smile without even trying. I’ve noticed it lately. I’m not really sure if it’s your innocence that makes people automatically fond of you or if
it’s just that smile of yours that always seems so wide, yet so much is hidden behind it.” Gage’s smile fell the same time mine did. For some reason, I couldn’t look away from him. His eyes sparkled from the light of the moon, and as he blinked, I finally lowered my head to look anywhere but at him.
“You’re someone who I can tell doesn’t trust easily. Love easily. Fall easily. Someone who knows how to step away from stupidity and nonsense instead of lingering around it. You’re the kind of person who knows she deserves it all because you’re strong, knowledgeable, and mature for your age. I find it nice, really,” he said, grinning, but I could still feel him looking at me. He then did the unexpected.
He took a step forward, bringing his hand up and pulling me in by my waist. My heart throbbed and a trickle of heat ran from my throat to my stomach as he tilted my chin up with his forefinger. “I find you nice, Ellie. I see a whole lot more within you than you think I do.”
I couldn’t breathe. Usually that’s a bad thing, but in this circumstance, it was good. Gage’s lips hovered above mine and his warm breath tickled my cheek. The warmth of his free hand was at my waist and his eyelids lowered as he looked from my eyes and then down to my lips again.
I bit on my bottom lip and his parted as he brought his hand up to cup my cheek. The touch of his skin on mine sent me over the edge. He was so close. Even with the few gusts of wind blowing against us, I was burning up on the inside, yearning for at least one kiss. It didn’t have to happen again after this night, but at this very moment, it was the perfect time to go in for a taste of him. But how was I to go about it? What if it wasn’t the time yet? It felt wrong… but my body was screaming that it was so right.
“Gage—”
He cut me off before I could finish speaking, placing his finger against the fold of my lips. “Don’t,” he whispered. He moved in even closer and I stifled a breath. My heart was pounding the closer he got. He removed his finger from my lips to get full view of them again and a slow, sensual smile weaved its way across his lips. Oh, God. He was so beautiful.
Who He Is Page 7